Rainbow Days
by starlight.moon.princess
Summary: The best and worst moments in Percy's life have always had a rainbow in them. He doesn't know which one today will be, but considering what he's about to confess to Nico, it's definitely going to be a rainbow day :: PercyNico, post-Giant War


Annabeth had once told him that in some cultures, seeing a rainbow was once thought to be the greatest luck possible. At the time, he hadn't really understood it – rainbows were the medium through which Iris travelled, and for a half-blood, seeing rainbows happened to be a rather common occurrence.

It was only that everything was normal again – or at least, as normal as it could be for a half-blood – that he had started to see her point. Sure, he would create rainbows with the spritz of a bottle or a wave of the air, but natural rainbows? That was a different thing altogether.

Natural rainbows, the ones that occurred after a rain-shower, were as much Zeus' creation as Iris', and it was only when he had the time to truly think about it that he realised just how few true rainbows he had ever seen.

In some ways, it made sense – even as a child, a rainbow had always been associated with happiness for him. It was sometimes one of the only things that could make his mother smile after a trying day around Smelly Gabe, and had he known about the gods then, he would have sacrificed anything to Zeus and Iris just so there were a few more rainbows around for his mother to see.

But they were also in a way part of Zeus' domain, and he really couldn't see his uncle going out of his way to produce anything that would give him even the modicum of happiness. To make sure that he did _not_ have that happiness, sure, that was believable. But not the other way around.

So he started keeping a track of when he saw them. It was idiotic, and probably a little childish, he was willing to admit that. After all, there was a reason that absolutely no one knew about that little factoid. But what he did start to notice was that the only time Zeus was feeling particularly kind towards him (or, more likely, wasn't paying him much attention) was when he extremely upset or astoundingly happy.

It was easy enough for him to understand why. It he was very hurt or depressed, it most likely had nothing to do with his uncle, and Zeus was only interested in his devastation if he had been the cause of it. And if he was too happy? Well, he didn't strike Percy as the type to be happy at his opponent's bliss.

Proof backed him up. Gaia's defeat was followed by a rainbow, but so was the moment when Annabeth broke up with him. And then there were countless other examples, good and bad, that he didn't feel like thinking about.

Considering what he was about to do today, he had absolutely no doubt that he was going to see a rainbow at the end of it.

* * *

It had started simply.

Annabeth and he – theirs had been a relationship forged by war. Faced with a complete lack of it, they had soon found that there was absolutely nothing they had in common. Annabeth needed someone who was at least slightly interested in architecture and all the other subjects she studied, who was willing to travel all over the world with her, while Percy wanted someone who was happy to stay in one place for some time.

The wars had taken enough out him. Exploring was definitely last on the list of things he wanted to do – he had seen enough of the world in his constant quests to save it.

So they had broken up, and while he had regretted the loss of something that had been such a constant in his life, he had known that it was necessary.

Besides, Nico had always been besides him, filling in for Annabeth whenever possible. It was to the son of Hades that Percy had found himself turning more and more often, because it was as though every time he turned, there Nico was.

In it all, he hadn't realised just how much he had come to depend on Nico, how much of a mainstay the other boy had become in his life.

Until the training accident.

* * *

It was a stupid thing that never should have happened. After the Giant War had come to an end, and there had been no new Great Prophecy forthcoming from Rachel, Camp Half-Blood had finally taken a moment to collectively breathe.

In the year since then, there had been changes, and none was greater than the new sword-training rules. With the communication between Olympus and the world back to normal, and the oath Zeus had sworn to Percy looming over their heads, more and more half-bloods were being claimed by their godly parents at earlier ages, which in turn meant that Camp Half-Blood had a new flood of young children populating it.

And while they couldn't risk the children's lives by not training them at all, they had made just a little less adult-like by making sure that every child below the age of twelve trained with swords whose edges had been temporarily blunted by the children of Hecate.

So it should never have happened. Nico was training a ten year old, for Zeus' sake! And yet-

"Nico!" Percy yelled out, just a moment before the actual strike hit. But there was nothing his dark friend could do about it, and Percy watched in stupefied horror as the son of Ares that he was battling landed a lucky strike on him. It ripped through Nico's armour, the Ares blessed sword stronger than anything the children of Hephaestus could create, and cut through the delicate skin underneath it.

Even Percy, lacking in medical training as he was, could tell that it wasn't good. The rate at which his shoulder was bleeding-

As he tried to rush to Nico, _make_ him stay alive until help and Chiron arrived, the crowd around him, which had been interestedly watching the fight, burst into chaos. And in the confusing, Percy was pushed aside and jolted from place to place, allowing the children of Apollo to reach Nico and start working on him before he was even close to the other boy.

He knew that he wouldn't be allowed Nico in the middle of the arena – the sun god's children were very serious when it came to healing injuries – so he did the only thing he could think of that would help him be close to Nico.

He sprinted to the Big House, knowing that that was where he would be brought once he was stable enough to be shifted. He refused to think of the possibility that Nico wouldn't be shifted – he wasn't going to die, and Percy refused to even entertain the thought.

Chiron was waiting for him there, his body blocking the entrance into the rooms used for wounded half-bloods.

"Chiron…"

"Percy, my boy, I cannot let you in," the old centaur told him gently. "Let the healers bring him here, and let him be healed – when he is ready for visitor, I will make sure you are the first to see him."

He knew Chiron was right, of course, but that didn't dent his determination to be by Nico's side as much as possible.

"I'm waiting here," he announced, seating himself on one of the couches in the corridor. In a typical hospital, it would be kind of like the waiting room, he reflected. He had never noticed that before – but then, the only time he spent any time in this part of the Big House was if he was on the patient's bed, or if the person on it was already gone. He hadn't exactly had any sort of experience with visiting live patients.

"Of course you are, my boy," Chiron murmured. "I will have someone bring you bedding tonight, Percy – I doubt even I could make you move from here today. But I have to go now – I do believe that this is Nico I see Will bringing up here."

He didn't get a glimpse of Nico as he was brought into the room – the healers whisked him away in a blink of an eye, all the while working furiously on his injury. And once Chiron disappeared into the room, the door shutting behind him, Percy found it almost impossible to breathe.

Nico – Nico, the boy who he had grown so close to – was lying on the other side of the door, and Percy had no idea if he was going to make it.

Grover brought him lunch, something he would have forgotten about if it hadn't been thrust into him face. As he pushed a few berries into the fire warming the corridor, he made sure to keep Apollo in his mind – if anyone could make sure that Nico survived, it was the god of healing.

"He'll be fine; you know that right, Percy?" Grover asked suddenly, breaking the odd silence that permeated the hallway even though Percy was no longer alone.

"He's still hurt," Percy replied. All he could think about was Nico lying in the middle of the arena, blood flowing thick and red. Once he'd made sure Nico was okay, he was definitely going to be having a conversation with the children of Hecate.

Grover had been his friend long enough to know when to drop a subject, and they spent the next few hours talking about inconsequential things. It was only when Chiron came out of Nico's room, looking exhausted but accomplished at the same time, that they stopped talking.

"He's fine," he said, holding up a hand in anticipation of Percy's question. "He's been told to rest as much as possible for the next few days, let the wound heal, but he's not in any danger. If you want, you can see him now, while he's still awake."

Percy was on his feet almost immediately, pausing only when he remembered that Grover was sitting next to him.

Catching sight of the look on Percy's face, Grover laughed. "I didn't expect you to continue keeping me company once you found out how Nico is, Percy," he said. "Go in, I don't mind."

That was all he needed – he didn't think he had ever sprinted that fast before, not even when retreating from Kronos' army.

Nico was lying on the bed in the middle of the room, even paler than usual. When Percy entered, he bestowed him with a tired smile.

"It seems Ares has found a new half-blood rival, don't you think Perce?" he asked.

Percy couldn't stop a short laugh from breaking through. In many ways, Nico reminded him of himself, resorting to humour when he was injured. "You're an idiot," he said, taking a seat next to the bed. "Did you even check to see if the kid's blade was blunted?"

From there, they settled into a conversation of easy banter and laughter. Over the next few hours, there were occasional visitor – Grover returned with Juniper, who had adopted Nico as her little brother after the Titan War; Hazel and Frank shadow-travelled from Camp Jupiter, and Jason, Leo, Calypso and Piper also somehow turned up, even though no one knew where they had been travelling at. Annabeth spent nearly an hour scolding Nico for being careless, and Chiron came in to check on the son of Hades frequently.

It was only when it was nearly time for dinner that there was peace in the room, the dark-haired boy having been tired out by all the visitors.

Before he left for dinner, Percy took a moment to admire the sleeping demigod in front of him. He had known Nico for so long now, but he had never noticed quite how beautiful he-

And it was at that thought that everything suddenly slid into place. Somehow, between his break-up with Annabeth and the moment of the dark haired boy's injury, he, Perseus Jackson, had somehow gone and fallen in love with Nico di Angelo. There was no way he could hide that from himself – it was his own personal curse, the inability to lie to himself. Once he realised something, he couldn't simply bury it and move on – he had to act upon it.

This wasn't the time, but soon enough, an appropriate time would come. The only question left for him was how he would handle everything then.

* * *

It had been nearly a month since the accident. Nico had been out of the bed within two days, completely unable to be still for longer, no matter how many times Chiron tried to convince him that he needed more rest. All he would concede to was taking it easy, and staying away from sword training for some time longer.

A part of Percy had known ever since his revelation that he would have to tell Nico the truth, but gathering up the courage to do so was a completely different thing altogether. Batting Kronos and Gaia was so much easier than putting his heart on the line.

(And sometimes he couldn't help but think that the only reason he was in these situations was because his love life was some sort of sadistic, celestial soap opera for Aphrodite, but that was something for him to deal with at a later date. Nico was the important thing here.)

He'd planned everything to perfection. The rest of the camp knew not to disturb them. If they could manage to spy without being spotted, there was nothing Percy could do to stop them, but outright interruptions were strictly forbidden. The picnic basket was laden with a veritable feast, a gift from the nymphs who had decided to forego lowfat dishes and cook actual food for what he hoped would be their first date. The children of Hephaestus had been bribed, and the fireworks they had rigged up were ready.

The only thing left to wait for was Nico.

When Nico finally appeared, dropping down by Percy's side from out of nowhere, it was almost too easy to read the expression on the other boy's face. For some reason unknown to him, Nico was extremely nervous, and _very_ jumpy.

As soon as he sat down, he started babbling, interrupting the confession that Percy had been ready to launch into. But he loved hearing Nico's voice, so it wasn't exactly a hardship to listen to him- and then he heard what he was actually saying.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm _sorry_! I didn't mean for it to happen, I really didn't. it was just supposed to be hero worship, a crush I was over with, but I've somehow fallen in love with you without even noticing it, and I really couldn't keep hiding it from you any longer and I really, _really_ hope that you don't hate me for what I've-"

There was no way for Percy to get a word in edgeways, so he did the only thing he could think of to stop Nico in his rambling tracks.

He kissed him.

And after a moment, when Nico stared to kiss back after the initial surprise had passed, Percy risked a glance up at the skies, and smiled.

_Definitely_ a rainbow day.

* * *

**i should probably stop deciding to write drabbles. This was _supposed_ to be a couple hundred words, not 2.5k...  
Anyhow. I hope you guys liked it, and as always, please don't forget to drop a review on your way out :)**


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